'Khalistan-II: Made in Canada': Indian magazine accuses Liberals of complicity in rise of Sikh terrorism

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sits with members of the Sikh community and government caucus during a Vaisakhi Celebration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Monday, April 11, 2016 alongside the cover of the Feb. 12, 2018 issue of Outlook India.Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan calls it “ridiculous” and “offensive” that a magazine in India is accusing Canada of being complicit in a rise in Sikh terrorism.

Sajjan and fellow Sikh minister Amarjit Sohi are making it clear they neither sympathize with nor espouse the Sikh nationalist movement, which is bent on creating a separate country called Khalistan within India’s Punjab region.

The latest edition of Outlook India features a photo of Trudeau and a headline on the cover that reads, “Khalistan-II: Made in Canada.”

The cover of the Feb. 12, 2018 issue of Outlook India.

Inside, a number of articles describe alleged connections between Canada and the movement, accuse Sikh Canadians of exploiting the country’s political system and blame free speech for allowing fundamentalist language to flourish.

Sohi, who is infrastructure minister and represents an Edmonton riding, says he does not sympathize with the cause, nor does he hear much talk about it in the Sikh community.

I've been a police officer, I've served my country and any allegations like that is absolutely ridiculous and I find it extremely offensive as well.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan

Sajjan, meanwhile, says the accusation is “ridiculous” and says Canada is being “sucked into” internal Indian politics.

“I’ve been a police officer, I’ve served my country and any allegations like that is absolutely ridiculous and I find it extremely offensive as well,” Sajjan said following a caucus meeting Wednesday.

Some 16 MPs of Sikh origin were elected in 2015, says the magazine, which also blames Canada’s allowance for free speech about human rights for giving “free reign” to more fundamentalist language that has led to the “radical capture of key gurdwaras.”

OUTLOOK COVER STORY|

A new real threat of Khalistani ­terror, fuelled and funded by foreign gurudwaras patronised by liberal white politicians, has revived memories of a blood-drenched era of #Punjab’s history https://t.co/33sYl9YT57

The subhead on the cover reads: “Sikh religious successionism threatening the Indian Constitution assumes proportions of official policy status in Ottawa as Punjab Police books four Canadian residents for gun-running and terror-funding.”

The issue comes just as India prepares to welcome Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his first state visit later this month.

The goal of the trip is to focus on trade and cultural ties, but a successful visit would surely be a re-election boon for Trudeau, who already enjoys a high degree of popularity among Canada’s 1.2 million Indo-Canadians.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday, January 23, 2018 in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul ChiassonPaul Chiasson /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Trudeau seems to have a friendly relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — the two have met on the sidelines of almost every international meeting they attended in the last two years, including just last month at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

But some political forces in India are less enthusiastic.

The articles accuse the Canadian government of allowing Sikh separatist movements to flourish and list four Canadians Indian authorities are said to want for allegedly supply weapons and funding terrorism in India.

General Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff (left to right) Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport make an announcement on fighter jets at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean KilpatrickSean Kilpatrick /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

The magazine also includes a Q and A segment with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who says there appears to be “Khalistani sympathizers in Trudeau’s cabinet.” That allegation meant last April Singh refused to meet with Sajjan when Sajjan was in India.

There are four Sikhs in the federal cabinet, including Sajjan and Sohi.

“If there is a small segment of people in Canada who talk about separation, who talk about the creation of Khalistan, if they do that in a peaceful way that is their right to do so but this is not an issue that I hear in the community,” Sohi said after Wednesday’s meeting.

“From my point of view this is not an issue for the Canadian population, this is not an issue for the Indo-Canadian community within Canada, and I don’t feel it necessary to be engaging in something that is completely irrelevant from a Canadian’s point of view.”

In the Outlook interview, Singh said he hadn’t been contacted about a meeting, but that he would “be happy to meet Justin Trudeau or welcome him as per the protocol accorded to any state guest of his stature.”

Trudeau’s office won’t say if a meeting with Singh is on the agenda.

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau is presented with a sword as he attends the Khalsa Day parade, an event that celebrates the Sikh new year, at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on Sunday, April 30, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark BlinchMark Blinch /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Balpreet Singh Boparai, lawyer for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, called Singh’s claims “ludicrous.”

“These claims are not borne out by any sort of facts,” he said. “These claims are very damaging and defamatory.”

Boparai said Indian media are always claiming outlandish things about Canada’s Sikh community which are never proven to be true.

“Beyond political speech, there is nothing happening here.”

The sentiment that Canada is sympathetic to the separatist movement is not new. However, some recent events have brought the allegations to the fore again, including an April 2017 motion in the Ontario legislature labelling as a genocide the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

An official in the Prime Minister’s Office, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, played down the impact the issue is going to have on Trudeau’s trip, saying it will come up but will not be a focus.

If pressed, the official said, Trudeau — who leaves for India next week — will stand up for free speech and also reiterate Canada’s policy in favour of a united India.

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